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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · band · date · cold · stick · rash · mark · shower

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rash — hasty
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pit — a hole
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. band — a music group
  17. rash — a series
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cold — not warm
  24. shower — to wash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com